Digestive Processes

Overview:

The digestive system functions to break foods down both chemically and mechanically for the purpose of extracting needed nutrients and water for absorption. Digestive processes vary slightly depending on the type of food (carbohydrate, fat, or protein) ingested and what part of the gastrointestinal tract food is passing through.

In your initial post:

Identify your favorite food and state whether it is highest in fats, carbohydrates, or proteins. It probably contains a little of all three, but is probably a little higher in one or two of these three macronutrients. What happens when you take a bite of this food and begin to chew it? Share a few of the main digestive processes that occur in each major section of the gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine) once you ingest, chew, and swallow this bite of food. Consider mechanical and chemical digestion, the action of enzymes and other digestive chemicals, pH, and any other significant event that occurs before the waste is formed and eliminated. Have you ever eaten asparagus or beets? What impact might eating these foods have on urine? Consider the smell or color.